Refuse receptacles



June 19, 1956 J. RITTER REFUSE RECEPTACLES Filed Aug. 17, 1953 FIG.|

m m m m R E T H R N H 0 V ATT'YS ite This invention relates to improvements in refuse receptacles, such as are applicable to use as ash cans, or garbage pails.

Heretofore, it was almost impossible to retain the cover of the aforesaid receptacles in position on the can body or housing thereof, since the covers soon become extremely loose fitting and are easily dislodged. Mishandling also misshapes the open end of the container body making positioning of the cover almost impossible. All this soon finds that the cover becomes lost or misplaced.

There have been some efforts made to provide latching mechanism between the container body and the cover but those known to me are all extremely cumbersome, impracticable or too expensive to put in general use. It was to overcome the aforesaid inherent defects that the present invention was devised.

The main objects of the present invention are to provide a new and improved refuse container of the class described having improved means for attaching a removable cover therefor; to provide a container of this character having a cover which is normally closed, normally urged to a closed position when opened for inserting articles, and readily removable for dumping the contents of the container; to provide a device of the character wherein a vertical axially positioned tubular member is integrally secured in the interior of the container, and having a cover for said container having a depending rod extending downwardly from the center of the inner face thereof and telescoped in said container tube; to provide a device of this character wherein a tubular member is axially positioned in the container, and removable therefrom at the will of the user, and a cover for said container having a rod extending axially downwardly from said cover and interfittingly loosely, in said container tube, whereby said cover is restricted to manual axial movement with respect to said container; to provide in a device of the class and character described wherein the rod and tubular members are removably secured to and in the cover and container respectively; and to provide a device of the class and character described which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and has no working parts to get out of order.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the device of my invention in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the cover in partially raised position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the device of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the modified form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tube mounting bracket member.

In the drawings the invention is shown in the form of a garbage can or pail and comprises a can body or housing 1 and a cover 2 having the usual handle 3 and depending flange 2'. Garbage pails and/ or ash cans are usually rates Patent ice constructed of reinforced sheet metal to withstand rough treatment and normally can be purchased in many sizes. The bottom 4 is usually spaced from the lower edges of the side wall of the housing 1 and the upper periphery of the housing is rolled back upon itself to form a protective lip and strengthen the housing.

An inverted substantially U-shape mounting bracket member (see Fig. 5) having laterally extending legs 5-6 is positioned in the interior of the housing 1 so that the threaded bore 7 is in the main axis of the housing 1. The legs 5-6 are welded, as at 8, or otherwise secured to the bottom wall 4 of the housing to make the mounting member substantially an integral part of the bottom wall 4. It is to be noted that the top wall 9 of the mounting bracket member is spaced from the bottom wall 4.

A tube or pipe 10 is provided with male or exterior threads on its lower end for cooperative engagement with the threads in the bore 7 whereby the tube or pipe 10 will lie in the main axis of the housing. The upper or free end of the tube or pipe 10 terminates slightly below the upper edge of the lip of the housing 1 as clearly shown in the drawings.

A reinforcement plate 11 is welded as at 12, or otherwise secured on the interior face of the cover 2, so that the threaded bore 13 will be positioned exactly opposite and in the same axis as the bore 7 of the mounting member. A rod or tube 14 having a diameter slightly less than the interior diameter of the tube or pipe 10 is provided with male or exterior threads at its upper end for cooperative engagement with the threaded bore 13.

It will now be apparent that when the rod 14 is inserted in the pipe to a sliding telescopic joint is created. Now when the cover 2 is lifted away from the housing 1 it can only move upwardly in the main axis of the housing 1 thereof.

Most persons using a refuse receptacle normally only move the cover away from the housing with one hand, a short distance from the rim thereof when they throw or place refuse therein with the other hand. Therefore by using the device of the present invention the use will be no different than ordinary normal use. But many times during normal use of refuse containers now on the market, the user may neglect to replace the cover or improperly replace the same so that accidental dislodgment of the cover easily and readily occurs. With the device of the present invention this cannot occur since the cover becomes a normally attached part of the housing and when the cover is released, even in the raised position, after deposition of the refuse, the weight of the cover, by gravity will normally cause it to reseat without effort on the part of the user.

When the velocity of the Wind increases above the usual, often improperly replaced covers of refuse receptacles of garbage can type are often blown off the body. This obviously cannot happen when the device of the present invention is incorporated in refuse receptacles. This same thing is true when animals seek to get access to such refuse receptacles.

When the collector empties the receptacle he merely completely removes the cover 2 with its rod 14. Thereby he can dump the contents without interference by the cover.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, I have provided a convenient means to incorporate my invention in existing receptacles. In this. form the connection of the tube 10 to the can body is shown as a bucket-shaped inner member mounted removably within the can body and fitting snugly against the bottom wall and inner periphery of the side walls. This member may be of any convenient form to accomplish the function of holding the tube 10 rigidly in an axial position in the can body but is shown of bucketshape with its side walls continuous, fitting snugly against the side walls of the can body and extending upward along the walls of the can body to normally collect the moisture from the garbage and prevent its accumulating under the member 15. The bottom wall 16 has an upturned cylindrical flange or boss I7, internally threaded, to receive the threaded end of the pipe or tube 10, and positioned in the mainaxis of the container.

It can now be seen that for a present owner of a refuse receptacle he need only obtain the modified device of my invention, a cover with its depending rod and a pipe or tube, to have the complete invention incorporated in an existing refuse receptacle.

It is obvious that the tube andpipe lengths will vary in length with the height of the receptacle.

It will be understood that details of the construction shown maybe altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the followingclaims:

I claim:

1. A bucket-shaped refuse receptacle comprising, an annular body wall extending upwardly above a bottom and open at the opposite end, an annula-rly-fianged cover telescopically fitting over the open end of the body wall, a cup-shaped member telescopically fitting snugly in the lower portion of the body wall with the base of the cupshaped member resting on the bottom of the receptacle, a central upwardly-disposed and internally-threaded hub on the base of the cup-shaped member, an internallythreaded plate bonded to the inner face of the cover concentrically thereof, and a telescoping tube and rod each of a length substantially equal to the height of the body Wall and externally threaded on one end, the tube and rod being screwed respectively into the hub and plate for free-sliding relationship with each other to retain the cover in associated axial alinement with the body wall for any elevation of the cover above the open end of the body wall a distance not to exceed the height of the body wall but permitting a complete removal of the cover from association with the body wall when the cover is lifted above the open end of the body wall a distance greater than the height of the body wall.

2. A cover-retaining attachment for refuse receptacles of bucket shape with an annular body wall extending upwardly from a bottom and having an annularly-fianged cover for telescopic fitting over the open end of the body wall, the attachment comprising, a. cup-Shaped member dimensioned to telescopically fit snugly in the lower portion of the body wall with the bottom of the cup-shaped member resting on the receptacle bottom, an upwardlyextending internally-threaded hub concentrically positioned on the inner face of the cup-shaped member bottom, an internally-threaded plate member adapted for bonding to the inner face of the cover, and a telescopical tube and rod each of a length substantially equal to the height of the body wall and threaded on one end for screwing into the hub and plate respectively to have freesliding relationship with each other to retain the cover in associated axial relationship with the body wall for an elevation of the cover above the open end of the body wall a distance not to exceed the height of the body wall but permitting a complete removal of the cover from association with the body wall when the cover is lifted above the open end thereof a distance greater than the height of the body wall.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,625,884 Davis Apr. 26, 1927 1,656,053 Frank Jan. 10, 1928 1 ,824,880 Forbes Sept. 29, 1931 1,896,463 Ofierman Feb. 7, 1933 2,019,227 Jasper Oct. 29, 1935 2,271,156 Walker Ian. 27, 1942 2,364,617 Bolser Dec. 12, 1944 

